Cuba Gooding Jr. Could Have Comeback With O.J. Simpson Role

Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. is taking on the pivotal role of O.J. Simpson in FX's new series "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson."

The series is based off the book "The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson," which chronicled Simpson's murder trial from the perspective of the prosecutors and defense attorneys.

In 1994, Simpson, a former NFL player, was tried for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman. Eight months later, O.J. Simpson was acquitted after the jury found reasonable doubt given the evidence located at the scene. (Video via CNN)

Article Continues Below

We first heard about the "American Crime Story" series when Deadline reported back in October that FX had greenlighted 10 episodes.

And if the series' name, "American Crime Story," sounds similar to a currently popular FX show, there's a reason.

But Murphy told The Wall Street Journal he and his team are trying hard to differentiate this new series from the "American Horror Story" franchise, saying: "We didn't want to do a 'killing of the week' thing. We're interested in exploring crime cases that changed the landscape of America. It's not going to be like 'American Horror Story' — it's much more serious, it's much more dramatic."

This will be the first TV series for Gooding Jr. in which he stars as the lead.